Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the United Kingdom was best placed to eventually overthrow the sales prices that should be imposed by President Donald Trump.
The United Kingdom expects to be struck by new American rates on Wednesday when Trump plans to unveil a series of new taxes on goods imported into the United States.
Reynolds said he expected all countries to be affected by prices, despite his efforts to negotiate an initial exemption from the United Kingdom.
But the business secretary said that the current talks with the Trump administration meant that the United Kingdom was in the “best possible position of any country” to reverse them.
“Part of this comes down to the United States and if they want to do this,” Reynolds told BBC Breakfast.
“I think not only can we arrive at a place where we avoid the prices, but we also strengthen this relationship.”
Prices are taxes on goods imported into the United States.
During the weekend, Trump suggested that prices would hit all countries, not just those with the largest commercial imbalances with the United States.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said discussions on an economic agreement between the two countries to prevent the prices from being “constructive”, but he did not exclude response if they were imposed in the United Kingdom.
